Friday, June 29, 2012

Today is the last of our looks back at some of the older publications in the Realms. We get to take a look at the first Queen of Hearts event flyer. For those of you who went to last year's QoH (or any in the past few years) you will see some differences in the tourneys...and a lot of similarities. It was on a different site, coincidentally right around the corner from where it is held now. I also like the fact that there are no GPS directions; its amazing how fast the world changes in 18 short years. Again, I would like to thank Janna "Iawen" Oakfellow-Pushee for taking the time to scan in all these documents, as well as taking the time and energy to preserve our past.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

A news and announcements section of what Realms players are doing outside of the Realms. If you know of any news feel free to let us know at aearlegray@gmail.com

Congratulations to Joe "Elwick" Peipiora. Joe, while less active recently is a long-time member of the Realms community (who most recently NPC'd at Childraks Lair) and KoEF. He will be relocating to Aliso Viejo, CA in early July. He'll be working at a content designer for Carbine Studios (they make MMO games like World of Warcraft and Everquest). We are pleased for him but he'll be missed.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

This ongoing plotline has a lot to offer to those who like to quest. In the past, the events have provided an open questing area where a group can go out and find adventure and I would expect the same this time around. The goals tend to be clear and how the players achieve them is up to them and their determination. The staff has shown in the apst that they are willing and capable of rolling with what the players throw at them; this makes player innovation and creativity a plus. This will be a solid weekend of questing.

This is the same site from Green & Gold. While that tourney event tends to not use the excellent event site beyond the tourney fields, this event has and will make use of all the site has to offer. Which is woods, trails and mysterious places. The site is wonderful for questing. Be aware that there is a possibility of plot given character ticks, as well as the potential for permanent spell loss.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

How long have you been playing?
Since Midnight Storm 3 in 2001 -- so about 11 years now.

How has the game changed since you've been playing?
Mages are more powered than they were when I started, even just 11 years ago.
At the same time, the martial aspect of the game has increased. I think that by
and large, plots are more complicated and special effects are getting slowly
better.

Who have you learned the most from?
It's a combination of three people: Steven Matulewicz, Matthew Brenner and
Angela Gray. Steven, I learned the most from early in my Realms career, in ways
to act, wanting to better oneself, and to keep going on art and crafting.
Matthew more in the middle of my time in Realms, in terms of running events,
game balance, and crafting stories. More recently, I've been leaning from Angie
about keeping a separation (as this is only a game, really,) working with a
wide variety of people, and getting back into really roleplaying again.

What was your best moment IC?
I feel my best moment IC was at a Feast of Min years ago, on the "Tuesday"
night quest run by Carrie Dolph. I was so far IC that I actually grabbed the
front of the Vampire Azreal's shirt and screamed at him that he was not leaving
the area with Aeston Stromgate's soul!
He coldly sliced Metron's belly open and I collapsed on the ground. It was real
and intense, even though there was a misunderstanding involved (it was really
PVP that had resulted in Aeston being scalped, not Azreal), but that night
quest was still extremely awesome.

What was your best moment as a
NPC/EH/Player?
The best moment as an EH was watching the players piece things together during
the event (and especially night quest of) A Single Grain of Sand. I've come to
realize that those are my favorite times as an EH, when the things that we (the
Fae Staff) have set up get figured out and realized. Possibly not even in the
way that we had intended.

Photo by Erin Martin

What would you like to see changed or
developed more in game?

I would love
to see us have actual set races in the game, ones that each had a benefit and a
detriment. While one of the greatest things in our game is that people can be
whatever they want, that's also one of the most difficult things. Everyone's
background/race is all different, and it makes for a marked lack of consistency
in our game work.

I would also love to have the game world of the Realms be more consistent. Some
sort of plot committee together to keep everything piecing together with
everything else. I do what I can with the Realms map, but Event Holders working
with each other across different plots could be really amazing.

I would also love to see more emphasis on roleplaying, and in roleplaying being
able to actually change the course of events/plots (at least perceptually).
There are many times where event and plots seem to plod along on a scripted
course no matter what the PC's do. It's a special thing when PC action really
does change things, divert them, make them better (or worse).

Lastly, and this might seem odd coming from a three-path .. I'd actually like
to see LESS spells in our game instead of how we keep adding two or three each
year. It feels like there's a lot of "filler" in the spell-paths
right now.

What advice would you give new players?
Definitely hit more than one event before making a decision about whether
you're going to stay in the game, or what group you want to join, etc. Try a
variety of events, from different Event Holder/plotmasters, and have fun!
Lastly, realize that this game is wonderful, but -- it's only a game. Real life
must come first (i.e., don't ditch work or schoolwork because you're hitting a
Realms event -- the game will still be here when you're done with your outside obligations).

What do you love most about the game?
The creativity we display on a weekly basis. People are constantly creating
art, crafting armor, weapons, shields, NPC outfits and concepts, and so much
more, ALL the time. People learn to sing or play instruments, get better at
photography, painting, and everything else we all do. Occasionally things can
bleed over into our daily lives because of all this massive amount of artistry
going on, and when it does, it's truly magical.

Who would you like to see the next
interview be with?
Matthew Brenner.

Anything else you'd like to take the
opportunity to put into print?
Remember we're all in this game to have fun -- pick something you're good at or
want to improve on, and do it. It doesn't matter if you're the absolute best at
something -- life is a journey. Live along the way.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

This event has a reputation for having plentiful and skillful NPCs, excellently written encounters and some over-the-top props. The goal of the eventholders is to provide the players with a fun and enjoyable time and they have delivered every time thus far. You can go to this event knowing you will see something you have never seen at any other event.

This is a three-day event which means you get a full weekend of questing. The event site is tailor made for eventing. Every year they add more and more to the site, making it better each time. What have they added since the last time you were there? You'll have to attend the event to find out!

There were so many good pictures that came out of North/South War 2012 this year that I couldn't decide which ones to cut to get the count down to four pictures. So, again, we'll be running a multiple part series of pictures for North/South War. This one will not have as many in the series as the one for Creathorne Tourneys. The posting of the series will be early in the morning and if another article is being posted that day it will be on top of the What You Missed. This is also not something we will be doing consistently; most What You Missed will be one article. However, with the large summer events we seem to be getting a lot of really awesome pictures!

Friday, June 15, 2012

Today we have an event flyer for The Celebration of Lughnnassad also known as the Water War. This was back in the day when every event had some form of flyer to announce it and mailed out or handed out at other events. Amazing how the internet has changed things.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Most of the players in the Realms did not immediately jump
directly into a love of fantasy through the Realms. Similar to the theory of
the gateway hypothesis which states that the use of less dangerous drugs leads to the use of harder
drugs, what other forms of fantasy and role-play led you to the Realms?

Some people first found a love of fantasy through books; some through movies. Also role-playing games and computer
games may have been their first exposure to fantasy. I suspect there may
even have been other avenues into the Realms, such as acting in plays.

For me, it all started with books. My first “fantasy” book
was Watership Down. From there I eventually got into The Lord of the Rings,
which gave me a love of fantasy. However, I had one more step to take before I
“found” the Realms and that was tabletop role-playing games.

So, what was your “Gateway Fantasy”? What got you interested
in the genre of fantasy or role-playing and eventually brought you to the
Realms?